The Rooftops (and Other Stuff)

Lisbon Rooftops

This week continues our theme from the last — creative composition during travel photography.

Lisbon Door

Remember while traveling to use your imagination when looking for a stand-out photographic subject. Picture in your mind how focusing on that small detail rather than, say, an entire building will look to the viewer. And don’t be afraid of the derelict. Even a run-down wreck can pique interest in the viewer.

Batumi, Georgia on the Black Sea

Don’t forget standard “rules” of photography, however, such as The Rule of Thirds.:

Meteora Masterpiece

Or the use of negative space to enhance a subject:

Lisbon Balcony

Then again, sometimes such rules should be disregarded:

Rome Balcony

Today’s cameras do a lot of the work that used to fall on the photographer, such as determining exposure values and controlling depth-of-field. Some cameras even assist with composition in that they display a Rule of Thirds grid pattern for aligning subjects. In the end, however, no amount of automation will ever replace the photographer’s role in choosing what to shoot and how to ultimately compose the subject. If you don’t do your part, no amount of in-camera processing is going to salvage a badly-composed shot.

Today’s photo gallery (click on an image to bring up the slideshow):